May talks of unity whilst banks are eyeing move abroad

Theresa Mays Easter message spoke about 'people coming together' which runs in stark contrast to a number of banking firms looking to relocate services into Europe post-Brexit.

May’s first Easter address overshadowed by Lloyds banking news

Theresa May has spoken of a ‘sense of people coming together’ in her first Easter message as PM following the Brexit vote last June. Whilst also mingled with comments on Christianity and other religions’ continued role in society, the Brexit was still swept up in a rhetoric of unity and nationalist values. British business has now been largely asleep for four days, but this speech from May still managed to be overshadowed by news coming out of the Sunday Telegraph.

After a string of news about HSBC moving jobs to its European headquarters in Paris post-Brexit, Lloyds Insurance will also be moving jobs to Brussels. Lloyds Banking Group will also be setting up a new main European Base in Berlin.

How does this impact your currency purchase?

The significance of this is that Lloyds is the only major British financial lender that doesn’t have a subsidiary in an EU nation outside of the UK. Previously notifications from other banks about moving operations overseas were dismissed that they were simply bolstering operations over there. Now we have the first evidence of more ‘domesticated’ UK firms being forced to look abroad.

Despite May’s talk of unity, currency markets were clearly nervous about the potential domino effect of other companies looking abroad, with the deterioration in the Pound’s value first thing Monday morning. Lloyds have refused to comment on the story but have not refuted it. We may hear more news about this today now that the financial sector is back to work, but I think it is unlikely to move markets further. This is of interest to anyone looking to use Sterling to purchase a foreign currency, that sudden news coming out of the business sphere can also impact exchange rates. As such it is best to plan for the unexpected, particularly with the recent improvements in the Pound’s value. You can secure your currency for a future purchase simply by speaking with your account manager here concerning a forward contract. Effectively a buy now, pay later policy, where the sudden machinations of Brexit based decision-making will no longer impact your upcoming currency requirement(s).

The Pound post-Easter

In terms of what can be pre-planned for, scheduled economic data releases, it seems the Pound will be waking up slowly after a long weekend of slumber. Arguably the only significant measure of UK economic performance this week will be released won’t be until Friday with UK retail sales figures for March. So you won’t be the only one struggling back out of bed early this morning, the Pound isn’t scheduled to make much fanfare on its own until the back end of the week. Most movement will be driven by events in Europe and the rest of the world.

The Pound remains in strong territory following the declaration of Article 50, and clients looking to buy foreign currency may be prudent to act sooner rather than later to make the most of the highs. Call us on 01494 725 353 or email myself here to retrieve a free quote.

K. Roberts

R. Dewing

This was a faultless service from start to finish. Our contact, Joshua, could not have been more professional and efficient. He guided us excellently through all the stages of transferring money to the UK. Joshua even managed to get us the best exchange rate available at the time, and he did this with a pleasant manner and exceptional politeness.

Exchange rates on this page are interbank rates and indicate where the market is trading to show the performance of a currency pair. They are not indicative of the rates which we offer. The information on this web site is provided free of charge for information purposes only. It does not constitute advice to any person on any matter. Foreign Currency Direct plc. ("FCD") makes every reasonable effort to ensure that this information is accurate and complete but assumes no responsibility for and gives no warranty with regard to the same.